Page 51 of Kilted Abduction
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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“I’ll come back tae fetch ye fer supper once we’re done,” he said.
“May I walk the grounds?” Ciara asked. “I’d like a little fresh air.”
“’Tis cold out there.”
She shrugged. “I’ve dinnae mind the cold all that much.”
A concerned frown on his lips, Magnus pulled his dark green cloak about his shoulders and clasped it at the throat with a small metal broach that bore his house sigil. He paused for a moment then turned to her and nodded.
“Aye. Ye can walk the grounds,” he said. “But I’ll be sendin’ a couple of men tae watch over ye and when they tell ye it’s time tae return, it’s time tae return. Nay questions.”
Ciara nodded, a small smile playing across her lips. “Nay questions.”
“I mean it, Ciara.”
“I ken, I ken,” she replied. “I’ll come back when they say ‘tis time tae come back.”
His gaze remained locked on her for a moment and his lips quivered as he seemed to be suppressing a smile. Ciara felt that spark in her belly that was becoming familiar whenever she was near him. In the days that followed that moment they’d shared in the corridor and what Ciara had come to call Magnus’ midnight confession, the wall of ice between them had begun to melt.
While she wouldn’t go so far as to say relations between them were exactly warm, they were somewhat less frosty than they’d been before. Conversation between them seemed to flow a lot easier, more naturally, and she’d even managed to get a few laughs out of him. He was surprisingly fun to talk to. He was intelligent and able to hold the sort of long conversations with actual depth that Ciara enjoyed. And while he still remained guarded around her, Magnus seemed slightly less… tense.
While he hadn’t come right out and said that he cared for her, Ciara had heard enough in his words to know that he did. He was worried about what would happen to her if she left. He was worried about her being captured by her father and Fairfax and the life that waited for her. And though he didn’t say it, she could tell he didn’t want that for her any more than she wanted that forherself. He hadn’t said he cared about her, but Ciara could see it in his eyes when they spoke. She could feel it in the air between them that felt charged with so many unspoken words.
“All right,” he said gently. “I will be back fer ye when I can.”
She nodded and watched as he walked out of the chamber, gently closing the door behind him. Ciara sat on the edge of the bed for a moment, her thoughts racing as wildly as her heart. While she appreciated him taking her under his wing, his worry for her safety was a blade that cut both ways. She knew that by being in Dunvegan, she was putting his life, as well as the lives of his family, in danger. Her father and Fairfax would come for her and when they did, she knew they would stop at nothing to bring her back.
She feared they would raze Dunvegan to the ground and kill everybody who dwelled within its walls. And while she didn’t understand exactly what she felt for Magnus, she was growing fond of him. She had started to enjoy being around him. Ciara knew herself well enough to know that she would take his death hard. She knew it would hurt her in ways she couldn’t even begin to comprehend at the moment. And there was little doubt in her mind that if her father and Fairfax marched on Dunvegan, it would not end well for the MacLeod clan.
The thought of them all being killed because they were sheltering her was unbearable. It sent a sharp slice of pain straight through her heart. She had no doubt they were capable and had fought many battles—successfully—but Ciara didn’tthink they understood or appreciated the threat Fairfax posed to them. The man was a monster who would spare none.
If something happened to them, it would be something Ciara couldn’t live with. Yes, they were technically her captors, but as strange as it sounded, they had been nothing other than kind to her. She couldn’t live with herself if something happened to them and she had done nothing to prevent it. And despite Magnus’ dire assessment of the situation, Ciara didn’t think Fairfax would attack Dunvegan without provocation. If she wasn’t there, he would have no cause to fight. Which meant she had to leave. For her safety as well as that of the MacLeods.
Her decision made, Ciara dressed in the breeches and tunic she had arrived in, which had been cleaned. She pulled on her boots and fastened her cloak around her neck. Her sword and dagger had not been returned to her, which frustrated her, but she would find new blades and a bow once she’d gotten away from Dunvegan. Her purse though, was still heavy with the coin she’d won at the Games. It wasn’t a fortune, but it would keep her fed for a little while. It would have to tide her over until she was able to figure out how to earn more.
That done, she walked to the door and pulled it open. The two guards standing outside gave her an uneasy smile, no doubt remembering what she was sure Magnus had told them he would do to them if they let her out of their sight.
“Stretchin’ yer legs, eh?” asked the guard on the right.
“Aye. Been caged up too long and need some air.”
“All right,” he said. “But ye ken the rules.”
She nodded. “I dae.”
They both stepped aside, letting her walk ahead of them. Ciara traced a familiar path through the castle, lulling her guards into a sense of complacency that would allow her to enact her plan, half-cooked as it was. She hadn’t had time to think through all the angles. She just knew she had to act for her sake, and for Magnus’. He didn’t believe her being within their castle walls was any more of a threat than they already lived under, but Ciara didn’t. She believed her absence might be what would save them.
